When pizzas are ordered with the click of one button at Uber Eats, the latest Richard Osman novel is on its way before you know it through Amazon’s swift and easy interface — while that little AirBnB apartment in Brighton is booked with ease. Why? Because all the information you require to make those decisions is available to you on a single page.
Everything is done to benefit the visitor — so as little time as possible is spent on gathering the necessary information.
That’s customer feedback, photos, transparency of costs and average waiting, response or delivery times. Everything is done to benefit the visitor — so as little time as possible is spent on gathering the necessary information. Now relay that idea to the recruitment process — and despite the notion that it’s internet-centred, they usually offer nothing like the experience of the aforementioned websites.
’80% of candidates who read a job ad do not respond’
It starts with job ads. According to softgarden research, a staggering 80% of candidates who read a job ad do not respond. That’s particularly troublesome due to the fact that 70% of companies cite job ads as their primary method for attracting candidates. “The reason is that they do not find what they are looking for”, softgarden state in their latest whitepaper. The German recruiting solution delved into five steps companies can take in order to close the gap on a more AirBnB-type recruitment style.
1: Make the career page the main reference
Following the idea of all the information on one page, softgarden suggest using the career page as the main platform. “Job seekers want all the information and services they need on one page: employer reviews, recruiting KPIs, and ways to apply. What other platform could be better than your own career site?”, they state.
“If job seekers have to visit multiple websites to find detailed information, most of them quickly lose interest.”
According to their research, approximately 80% of candidates who start their job search on a general job portal are forced to then use Google to get more information. That in itself is risky, softgarden add. “If job seekers have to visit multiple websites to find detailed information, most of them quickly lose interest. However, if the candidate arrives directly at a career site that offers all the content they need, the candidate‘s journey is complete.”
2: Use employers reviews
As organisations from all over the world thrive on a notion of transparency — softgarden argue it’s time to do the same in the recruitment process. Seldom do customers make purchases without any sort of review. Even when something has been rated 3.5 out of 5 stars, any rating is better than no rating. So why do recruitment sites fall into the latter category, rather than the former?
59% of candidates are more motivated to apply if the career page includes an employer review.
According to softgarden, up to 59% of candidates are more motivated to apply if the career page includes an employer review. “The ratings in these assessments provide rational data based on verified data that inspires confidence in candidates”, softgarden add. “This is especially true because when a rating is 5 stars or less, you can immediately see how the employer is rated.”
3: Publish recruiting KPI’s
When you’ve ordered your quattro stagioni — you know when it’s set to be delivered. But when it comes to a job application, you likely have no idea when you’re due for a response. Even if it may take longer for companies to get back to someone sending over their CV or application, the key is transparency, softgarden argues.
“Why not integrate your internal KPIs directly on a career page?”
74% of candidates are more motivated to apply to the employer who publishes recruitment KPIs on their career page. “Why not be more transparent like the best shopping apps”, softgarden say. “Why not integrate your internal KPIs directly on a career page? What is your average Time-to-Hire? When will candidates receive feedback? What is your recruitment rate? What it really comes down to is being as open as possible in your contacts with the candidate.”
4: Speed is of the essence
Avoiding click-throughs is a sentiment any marketeer will preach — as should those involved with recruitment, according to softgarden. 60% of applicants do not want to take more than 5-10 minutes to apply. So speed is of the essence. “The digital age has made us all a little more impatient, so it‘s important to pay attention to the loading speed of your career page”, they say. “A page that takes too long to load is often disappointing to the visitor and causes them to leave. Such a candidate will leave your page without even reading it.”
5: Optimise your Google SEO rankings
As candidates can be ruthless if they don’t find the right information, Google can be ruthless when it comes to their rankings. Word of advice from softgarden: make sure your career page isn’t hard to find. “Since Google highlights and ranks pages with the best user experience higher, make sure your career page loads quickly, is user-friendly, and is optimised for mobile devices. With a search engine optimised company career page, it is possible to apply very quickly and directly on that page.”
Download the full whitepaper as published by our partners softgarden here.
Read more:
- Mathias Heese (softgarden): ‘Candidates choose their employers, rather than the other way around’
- More transparency = better candidates: why career sites should include reviews
